House in Mormont by PIQUE

Jul 2010

By Amber P — Filed under: Houses , Belgium, PIQUE

▼

Add this to My Bookmarks:

share by email

share by email

Our friends from PIQUE llc shared with us this house located outside the small village of Mormont in the Ardennes Forest of Belgium. Designed for a young family of four, the home will start as a summer house and expand into the sunlit basement to ultimately function as a permanent residence.

As the husband works internationally, the closely knit family’s schedule has a 19-hour-a-day operating time stretching from breakfast at 7am to the end of the North American work day at 2am. This family wanted a house that would participate in the rituals of their day and amplify key family events.

exploded axo

Because the gently sloped site is mostly surrounded by dense foliage, all of the momentum of the house is directed toward the sky. Five light wells have been designated to five specific experiences that compliment five different events in the family’s schedule. In some cases the wells frame views and shadows, and in some cases the wells funnel light. The architecture is an active participant in the place. It acts as an agent, accentuating special moments that already exist in the place and partnering them with significant events of the family’s daily ritual.

A modest 130 square meters in its ‘vacation home’ configuration, the house floor plan and structure is kept extremely simple and utilizes local standard building techniques so that a significant portion of the modest budget can go into the experiential roof wells which are made of pre-fabricated Structural Insulated Panel assemblies craned into place.

: © Courtesy of PIQUE

: © Courtesy of PIQUE

: © Courtesy of PIQUE

: © Courtesy of PIQUE

: © Courtesy of PIQUE

: © Courtesy of PIQUE

: © Courtesy of PIQUE

: site plan

: floor plan

: elevations 01

: elevations 02

: sections

: exploded axo

: sun diagram 01

: sun diagram 02

* Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.

Cite:
P , Amber . "House in Mormont by PIQUE" 31 Jul 2010. ArchDaily. Accessed 25 May 2012. <http://www.archdaily.com/71222>

Comments (5)
Tweets (12)
Links to this entry (1)

up_today_arch says:

Although it is rendering, this project is very nice because of it’s roof… I think this house looks better in concrete…

# August 1, 2010 at 15:00

dawgwalker says:

delightful small home- a budget version of holl’s st. ignatius. not sure about the tree/ceiling effect, but the procession from family to private work is wonderful, as is the bunk room.

# August 1, 2010 at 15:08

Chris says:

The interior is fantastic. The ceiling decor is rich and the “low-hanging” feel accentuates the release of the pop-up areas. Both serene and livably comfortable.

# August 2, 2010 at 03:23

analia says: